Charleston, West Virginia metal veterans Byzantine will release their long-awaited new studio album, “Harbingers”, on June 13th, 2025, via Metal Blade Records.
Produced by Peter Wichers (Soilwork, All That Remains, Nevermore), “Harbingers” offers nine tracks totaling forty-five minutes of deep lyrical wisdom alongside equally hefty riffs delivered seamlessly by one of the most commanding and unsung lineups to emerge from the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal movement of the early 2000s.
Now a five-piece for the first time ever featuring founding frontman Chris “OJ” Ojeda, alongside former guitarist Tony Rohrbough, bassist Ryan Postlethwait, veteran guitarist Brian Henderson, and drummer Matt Bowles, with Harbingers, Byzantine is a crown jewel in their impressive seven-album discography. Notes Ojeda: “After twenty-five years of riding the struggle bus, we’re ready to show the rock and metal world what we’re truly about”.
The album cover, designed by mixed-media artist Ashley Hoey, beautifully depicts Irene of Athens — the mother of Emperor Constantine and the first female empress of the Byzantine Empire. This focus on a maternal ruler eloquently ties into the album’s title, Harbingers, which means “ones who usher in great change”.
The record’s first single, “Floating Chrysanthema”, envisions a bleak dystopian future where artificial intelligence becomes sentient and overpowers mankind, essentially enslaving us all. “Our bassist Ryan brought this song to the band”, says Ojeda, “and we thought it hit like a sledgehammer making it the perfect introduction to our new music. Peter Wichers had a big hand in helping craft this song into its final iteration”.
Watch the official video for “Floating Chrysanthema” below.
“Harbingers” will be released on CD and digital formats. Find preorders here.
Tracklist:
1. Consequentia
2. A Place We Cannot Go
3. Floating Chrysanthema
4. The Clockmaker’s Intention
5. Riddance
6. Harbinger
7. The Unobtainable Sleep
8. Kobayashi Maru
9. Irene
It has taken years of ups and downs for Byzantine to reach the point of creating “Harbingers”. Discovered early on by Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler, the band quickly released their debut full-length, “The Fundamental Component”, in 2004. The record boasted a raw fusion of Bay Area thrash and Southern-tinged groove metal and set the tone for their future sound. Their 2005-released “…And They Shall Take Up Serpents” offering marked an even more blistering evolution. However, turmoil ultimately led to Byzantine’s breakup, announced just one day after the release of their third album, 2007’s prophetic “Oblivion Beckons”.
Reforming to release the independent albums “Byzantine” (2013) and “To Release is to Resolve” (2015), the band saw the latter dominate SiriusXM’s Hard Attack Devil’s Dozen for weeks, also earning them the #1 spot on CMJ’s Loud Rock Chart. Notably, Byzantine became only the second independent band to achieve this feat following Clutch’s indie release, “Earth Rocker”.
In 2017, Byzantine made their Metal Blade debut with “The Cicada Tree”, faultlessly merging multiple genres into their progressive groove sound, a signature blend now synonymous with the band. With “Harbingers” raising the stakes and a revitalized lineup in place, Ojeda confidently states, “If you’ve slept on Byzantine for the past twenty-five years, Harbingers will awaken you”.
Line-up:
Chris Ojeda – Vocals
Brian Henderson – Guitar, vocals
Tony Rohrbough – Guitar
Ryan Postlethwait – Bass, vocals
Matt Bowles – Drums
Weblinks:
www.byzantinemetal.com
www.facebook.com/ByzantineWV
